Long Pond woman hungry for Nathan's title

About a month before she was set to qualify for the Nathan's Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest, Long Pond resident Larell Marie Mele ran into an obstacle in her training.

CHRIS REBER

About a month before she was set to qualify for the Nathan's Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest, Long Pond resident Larell Marie Mele ran into an obstacle in her training.

Her local supermarket stopped carrying Nathan's Natural Casing Hot Dogs — the official frank of the annual contest.

"That was the only place I could get the natural casing," she said. "To practice with skinless would be silly. You don't want to practice with something that's easier."

Luckily, Mele was able to substitute another natural casing brand that apparently did the job. On Father's Day, Mele qualified for her fourth-straight appearance at Coney Island.

"It's a relief," she said. "You never know what's going to happen. Until you take home that trophy, anything can."

Mele is a nationally competitive eater who regularly competes at Major League Eating events.

On June 15, Mele traveled to Citi Field, home of the New York Mets, for her shot to qualify for the big competition. She topped the women's division, but said she was disappointed that she fell short of her goal of 20 dogs. She chowed down 14 hot dogs in 10 minutes.

"It was cool. It was my first time at Citi Field. The crowd was excited, which made me more excited," Mele said.

She was unable to attend the first-ever Nathan's qualifier at Pocono Raceway, but she said that wasn't such a bad thing. Only one eater from each qualifier makes it to Coney Island, and the Raceway contest featured the world's top female eater.

"Juliet Lee was there, she's one of the top females," she said.

Now Mele will take on Lee head to head, along with a crop of challengers that she says gets stronger each year.

"There are women out there that can do a lot more than what's been done in the past, really giving the number one a run for her money," Mele said.

Mele is more focused on her own goals, and soaking up the atmosphere of the annual extravaganza. She said she's looking forward to the day of the competition, when the eaters pile onto a party bus and take the drive to Nathan's original Coney Island location.

"You can't beat it. The eaters are all together, talking, joking, getting their minds off what they're about to face," she said. "It gets intense at the table."

Check out Larell taking on the top female eaters in the world. The contest will be streamed online on WatchESPN.com. The women's competition will take place at 11:15 a.m. July 4.